


The Colour of Poison Berries

by ohargos



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-25
Updated: 2007-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-25 05:25:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1633829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohargos/pseuds/ohargos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time there was a little girl with a hood the colour of poison berries, who did not fear the dark of the woods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Colour of Poison Berries

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Imrihamun

 

 

She is quite strange, this child, and people tend to get nervous around her.

Maybe it's her sharp eyes, the way she may look at you and not say a word, look at you for far too long, and not lower her eyes to her hands like other girls do. Maybe it's her knowing quietness, the way she seems to know things she should not. Maybe it's the way she can walk like a shadow, stand behind you without you noticing, until the bright coloured cloth she wears catches your eye. Maybe it's the way she walks in the dark, after the sun has set, alone, aimless.

Maybe it's the hood she wears, the colour of the poison berries that grow in the woods.

She has lost her name, somewhere along the way.

She is a strange girl and maybe not exactly what her mother and father were hoping for, but close enough, _close enough_. She is kind, nevertheless, and pretty, too, and she always does what her parents tell her to do, and loves her old grandmother dearly.

One day her mother gives her a basket with a bottle of wine and some bread to take to her grandmother, and warns her of the darkness of the forest, before sending her off. She doesn't say a thing, just looks at her, eyes bright and sharp.

She goes, fearless, and her steps are ever so light. (It's possible that someone sees her and wishes she won't find her way back. But that is not fair, for she is a good child, even if she's a little strange.)

When she is so far from the village that she could not hear the screams if it was burnt to the ground, (dark thoughts come from the darkness of the forest, that's all) he steps out of the shadows and comes to her.

Perhaps she has heard the soft steps on her heels. Perhaps she has not. However, she doesn't look the slightest bit surprised to see him.

"Good morning, young lady," he says, smiling, and tips his hat like a gentleman.

"Good morning, good sir," she replies, and remembers her mother's warnings, but isn't afraid.

"May I ask where you are going, miss?" His eyes are the colour of cold, and his teeth are white and sharp.

"May I ask your name, sir?"

He bows his head, "I am Mr Wolf. But do you mind answering my question, dear lady?"

"I am going to my grandmother's house, Sir Wolf. She is very ill, nearing the gates of Heaven these days, and needs food and wine."

It may just be that his eyes flicker, and perhaps she notices, and perhaps she does not. 

"May I accompany you, miss? Are you not afraid? It must be a very long journey you have ahead of you, and the woods are dark and dangerous." He gives another charming smile, and still, his teeth are white.

"It is a long journey, but I have walked it before and I do not fear. And good sir, do you not think it is inappropriate for you to ask such things?" Still her eyes are void of fear, and still they are bright and sharp.

"Not at all, if my intentions are good, my dear."

" _If_ they are, Mr Wolf."

She bids farewell and goes on her way, and he is startled by the strange light in her eyes. 

But he disappears back into the shadows, and like wind, he flies past her and soon he cannot see the poison berry-coloured hood in the distance at all. Perhaps she notices him passing her by, and perhaps she does not.

When she sees her grandmother's small house, light is already fading. There is a bitter scent in the air, but she does not fear as she opens the door.

Her grandmother looks nothing like she remembers, and her bedcovers haven't been laid down carefully, but thrown down hastily instead. She puts the basket on the table and straightens the covers. Then she goes to her grandmother who is so deep beneath her blanket that it looks almost like she's hiding from her.

"You do not look like yourself today, dear grandmother. Has the illness made you this unwell?" she asks, and lets her hood fall down, and even in the twilight of the house, it's still the colour of the poison berries.

"It has indeed, my dear," her grandmother replies with a voice that sounds unfamiliar to her. "But it won't kill me."

The voice that speaks to her is soft like the wind, and the eyes that peer at her brighter than her grandmother's have ever been, even when they are shining with fever. Perhaps the girl notices this, and perhaps she does not.

"Even your mouth looks different, grandmother," she says finally. "Your teeth, too." And she does not look away, and does not shudder.

"There must be a reason for that, dear girl."

"Indeed? And what reason might that be..." she asks, and her grandmother's hand reaches out to her. 

"...Mr Wolf," she adds.

His eyes flash and he throws all the blankets and quilts aside, revealing his sleek form, revealing the blood stains.

"You must admit, Mr Wolf, that I had all the right to be doubtful, for your intentions were all but good."

She is still looking at the wolf, his sharp teeth and glowing eyes, his blood-stained lips. Perhaps she is afraid, and perhaps she is not.

"I do admit that," the wolf says. "But I never lied."

He smiles with a mouth that is nothing like her grandmother's is - no, _was_ , she corrects herself, for her grandmother has finally reached the gates of Heaven.

"Do you wish to know my true intentions, dear lady?" Mr Wolf asks, and she is a strange child, for she does not cry for help, even though the hunter may be just outside the door.

Instead, she calmly says, "I do, sir."

"I shall devour you. I shall kill you, and drink your blood and eat your flesh, until there is nothing left but a few pale bones, and then you will be mine."

"Very well."

His mouth is the colour of the poisonous berries that grow in the woods, and so is her blood. 

The End

 


End file.
